spend a few hundred billion to put a colony on the moon, i'd say you're fired. >> moon shot. the candidates turn up the heat on each other while another says enough is enough. >> please stay clear of the door. plus, rough ride. capping off a bad day for metro, another problem -- delays trains and riders late into the night. good morning, welcome to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> good morning to you, i'm joe krebs. let's take a live look outside this morning. we have warmish temperatures, 61 degrees here in the nation's capital. clouds and some rain with us, as well. here's tom. yeah, we're going to hold steady, near 60 through the morning. then it's going to turn colder. as the cold air comes in, it's been triggering strong showers and thunderstorms. we're getting thunder, lightning, heavy downpours. areas in yellow and orange are two separate lines. one stretches from near hagerstown to winchester and peters out south of there near

luray. there's a secondary line just coming into manassas. it's just now east of warrenton and just now coming into culpeper, as well. that is producing some very heavy rain. and some of these, as well, are producing wind gusts to around 40 to 50 miles per hour. those areas in yellow where we're getting the heaviest rains now. and that is going to be moving into southern loudoun county and into fairfax county, southern prince william, southern fauquier, and southern culpeper in about another ten minutes. these are moving fast. these lines of rain, thunder, and gusty winds now moving at around 50 miles per hour. they're going to be sweeping into the area within the next hour. should be causing some travel problems, too, with some heavy downpours causing ponding of water on roadways. look at the contrast of temperatures. upper 30s along the pennsylvania border to the 60s south of washington. reagan national at 54. later today the passing showers will be dissipating by noontime. clearing out this afternoon and turning colder with a gusty wind

out of the northwest. a look at the evening planner in ten minutes. how's traffic? right now looking at i-270, your first set of delays are out of urbana. they continue to clarksburg road. once you get to clarksburg road, it gets better for you. i can show you here at father hurley, you are getting a little busy as you head southbound and head toward shady grove. no accidents in the road. as you connect to the spur, looking good. on the rails, no reported delays on the metro, marc, or vre. joe, over to you. >> thank you very much. we have breaking news right now. new information about the carbon monoxide leak in georgetown. let's get right to megan mcgrath. >> reporter: well, joe, we have a cause for this carbon monoxide build-up. we also can report that everyone who was evacuated is back inside. take a look across the street here. you see the bakers inside georgetown cupcake are again making their delicious cupcakes. they had been on the street. they were among several of the

stores and apartments that were evacuated early this morning because of a build-up of carbon monoxide. we've just gotten the update from the fire department, and they have a cause. apparently the carbon monoxide was coming from a gas-fired hot water heater that was shared by the qdoba restaurant and georgetown cupcake. the area the hot water heater was in was not adequately ventilated. carbon monoxi carbon monoxide about built up and traveled to apartments on the second and third level. everyone had to be evacuated for safety. again, everyone back inside now. should mention, this is the second time this week that everyone has been evacuated because of carbon monoxide. happened also earlier on tuesday morning. reporting live in georgetown, megan mcgrath, news4. >> and just to underscore, the cupcake bakers are back at work. >> reporter: good news. >> good news. >> reporter: a lot of unhappy people if they weren't. >> reporting live. thank you very much, megan.

metro is once again apologizing to its riders for delays. a power outage temporarily shut down its radio communications, forcing delays late last night on the red, orange, and blue lines. trains were stopped for about 15 minutes before midnight. but because trains were already single tracking at the time, riders saw major delays. the problem came after major problems on the red line. the cracked rail near tinley town yesterday forced single tracking through the morning rush. riders saw major delays and trains more crowded than usual. metro officials point to malfunctions including this one as proof that they need to raise fares to help bring in more money to make them. metro is facing a $116 million shortfall and must approve a new budget by july 1. right now there are no delays on any metro lines. in the race for the white house, mitt romney is taking a much more aggressive tone in his attacks on newt gingrich. less than a week before the crucial florida primary. the candidates squared off in

the final debate before the sunshine state's primary. on tuesday, all four white house hopefuls took part. the focus was primarily on romney and gingrich. romney was particularly animated when newt gingrich called him the most anti-immigrant gop candidate. >> want to make sure i understand. is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> i think of the four of us, yes. >> go ahead, governor. >> that's simply inexcusable. inexcusable. actually, senator marco rubio came to my defense and said the ad was inexcusable, inflammatory, and inappropriate. mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> romney also plasted gingrich over his vow to build a colony on the moon during his presidency. he accused gingrich of just telling voters what they wanted to hear in order to win support. gingrich seems to be emerging as the front-runner. he leads romney by nine points

among republicans likely to vote in the primaries, according to the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. rick santorum at a distant third followed by ron paul. that may not be the best of news for the republican party. gingrich is the worst of all candidates tested against president obama in the general election. the former house speaker would lose by 18 points according to that poll. romney would fare best against the president, trailing by just six points. much of the attention lately has been on the race for the white house. many members of congress may be concerned about holding on to their jobs this election year. according to a new poll, the majority of registered voters say they would vote out every member of congress if they could. 56% of voters say they'd prefer a whole new congress. and this anger appears to cross ideological lines. 55% of liberals, 55% of moderates, and 58% of conservatives say they would vote out congress if they could. our time is 6:06. coming up in ten minutes, the big name coming to help the

teenage girls at the center of a mystery illness outbreak. next, a surveillance camera catches video of people running for their lives. for t[ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

dramatic security video shows people running as build comings down behind them. six people are dead, 16 more missing. brazilian officials suspect illegal construction work damaged one building, causing it to crumble and bring down two other buildings. frightening. >> frightening video. imagine if someone couldn't run or walk. someone who's disabled or somebody -- >> towing children with you. >> elderly with a walker trying to get out. very frightening. let's go to tom kierein in storm center 4 to look at the forecast. weird weather this morning, tom. >> yeah. mild temperatures, and we also

have some maybe thunder and lightning along with heavy downpours. these two lines stretching from hagerstown to near luray, producing some brief heavy downpours as well as some thunder and lightning, perhaps, and gusty winds to around 30, 40, 50 miles per hour. another line is weaker in southern loudoun county, into prince william, fauquier, culpeper. these are getting closer to the metro area. we're going to get some storms moving in. right now in the 60s to the south. it's in the 40s to the north. we'll have these passing showers off and on through midday. then getting colder with a gusty wind as we clear out this afternoon. by midnight, near 40. a look at the weekend in ten minutes. danella? good morning, right now we have a fatal accident, single vehicle that shut down 4th street northeast at massachusetts avenue. police are investigating. ite legislation you know when the road -- i'll let you know when the road reopens. eastbound i-66 was blocking the right lane, it might just be moved to the right shoulder lane at forecast parkway. back to you.

>> thank you very much. 6:11. ahead, the facebook photo that got the attention of the secret service. also, it may not be something women want to hear -- truth about the dangers of high [ male announcer ] we asked real people if they'd help us with an experiment for febreze fabric refresher; they agreed. [ experimenter 1 ] relax, take some nice deep breaths. [ experimenter 2 ] what do you smell? lilac. clean.

there's something that's really fresh. a little bit beach-y. like children's blankets. smells like home. [ experimenter 1 ] okay. take your blindfolds off. ♪ hello? [ male announcer ] and now new and improved febreze fabric refresher with up to two times the odor elimination so you can breathe happy, guaranteed.

new this morning, the parent company behind the italian cruise ship disaster is offering passengers $14,500 each as compensation for their ruined vacation. that will cover lost baggage and psychological trauma, they say. the company is also offering to reimburse passengers the cost of their tickets as well as any travel and medical expenses. passengers are free to pursue legal action if they aren't satisfied with the deal. new video released shows search crews looking for bodies inside the capsized ship. they are also looking for documents, hard drives, or anything else that will help them reconstruct the events that led up to the crash. 16 people are confirmed dead, and 16 others are still missing. the vatican is not

commenting on a potential scandal involving a prominent vatican official. in letters obtained by an italian news program, the archbishop says he was transferred to washington against his will after he exposed corruption in how contracts are awarded. he says he found a small group of businesses that held the majority of vatican contracts were charging twice the going rate for the services. he says he fixed the problems which earned him enemies who campaigned for his removal. he claims his transfer took him out of the running for the top administrator spot and rank of cardinal that would have come with it. this morning, the virginia woman rescued from somali pirates is mow with her family. "usa today" reports jessica buchanan of bedford reunited with her husband at a military base in sicily. she and a danish citizen were in africa as international aid workers when they were kidnapped in october. her husband says she went through three months of hell. he posted on his facebook page, "words cannot describe the joy and relief we feel. thank you to all that have

helped. this is a day of happiness." it is not yet known when she'll be able to return to the u.s. environmental activist erin brockvich is starting her own investigation to the mysterious illness that's affecting teens in upstate new york. 15 students including one boy have suffered from uncontrollable tics similar to tourettes syndrome. neurologists initially said the teens have conversion disorder, formerly known as mass hysteria. according to "usa today," brockvich is starting her own investigation because of new evidence about a toxic chemical spilled more than 40 years ago that caused water and ground contamination nearby. brockovich gained note right through her efforts to expose a toxic chemical cover-up in california that was made into an award-winning movie. 6:17. today, police commissioner ray kelly is likely to face questions publicly for the first time about an allegation of rape against his son. earlier this week, a woman accused greg kelly of sexually

assaulting her and getting her pregnant. kelly is an anchor on fox's "good day new york" in new york city. kelly denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crime. the police commissioner who has led the city's police department for a decade is expected to speak to the press after a promotion ceremony later this -- later today. the secret service is investigating an arizona police officer because of a photo the officer posted on facebook. the picture showed seven men, some of them armed, holding up an obama t-shirt riddled with bullet holes. officials in the peoria, arizona, police department also investigating the photo. one of the suspects was identified as a high school student. the secret service says individuals have a right to free speech, but they're still looking into the photo. arizona governor jan brewer has released the letter she gave to president obama earlier this week. the two shared a rather tense exchange on the tarmac when he

arrived in arizona wednesday. the letter says "we both love this great country, but we fundamentally disagree on how to best make america grow and prosper once again. i'd love an opportunity to share with you how we have been able to turn arizona around with hard choices that turned out to be right ones. twitter says it tweaked its technology so it can censor messages in individual countries. in a blog post, the social media company says it hasn't used the new filter tool but expects to do so when it enters more countries with different laws. the flexibility is likely to raise fears about twitter's commitment to free speech. if twitter takes off a tweet, it's wiped out throughout the world. the company says most of those cases have been links to child pornography. clean out your closets. a new study suggests that women who consistently wear high heels risk permanent damage to their body. the study was released in the "journal of applied physiology." it says that women who wear high

heels all the time risk damaging their knees, hips, back, and tendons. that's because the high heels force all the body weight on the ball of the foot and compromise stability. you don't have to be wearing heels for long. the damage can be seen in women as young as 25 years old. as my mother used to say, of course, you can also put your eye out. >> true. the spiky stilettos. i'm doomed. >> you are. >> i'm going to have to see start wearing crutches. >> even your fuzzy slipser have high heels. you -- slippers have high heels. you may have to rethink it. >> it would be flip-flop city me in the middle of winter, i'd have no shoes to wear. some people could break out the flip-flops in this weather, at least. >> tom? 62 in northeast washington. in the south, 60s. we also have on radar, two separate lines of some heavy rain with gusty winds and maybe even thunder and lightning just east of hagerstown in washington county and into southern panhandle of eastern west

virginia. near charlestown, getting heavy rain with gusty winds. south of there, along the blue ridge, east of winchester, warren, clark counties, the higher elevations getting heavy downpours there. there's another line. light or moderate rain in forecast, southern loudoun, moving to montgomery county. it picks up in intensity. the area of orange here south of warrenton in fauquier county and the line into culpeper county. it's producing heavy rain, these may also be producing wind gusts to around had 0 to 50 miles per hour, and -- 40 to 50 miles per hour, and thunder and lightning. farther east, we're getting lighter rains in prince george's county and in the district of columbia. the heavier rain should be moving in there, too, later this morning. look at the contrast in temperatures. frederick at 39. fredericksburg, 64 degrees. around 60 around the metro area. we'll stay there through the morning hours with the passing showers. and then windy, drying out this afternoon, guft winds to 35 -- gusty winds to 35 miles per hour out of the north and west, bringing in colder air. clear sky, diminished winds, near 40 degrees by midnight.

then near 30 by dawn saturday. and tomorrow, sunshine, highs low to mid 50s, colder weather moves in on sunday, monday. then warming up as we get into next week. maybe rain end of the week. danella? good morning, in northeast d.c. now, fatal single-vehicle crash blocks all of your lanes at 4th street. this is at massachusetts avenue. also on the roadway, i-66, still seeing the accident heading eastbound at forecast parkway. it's in the right shoulder lane. i do have to tell you earlier it was blocking the right side of the roadway. now it's on the shoulder lane, but you're still seeing delays on i-66. and if you're traveling now on the beltway, outer loop getting pretty slow at university boulevard. however, you're still traveling, and i'll give you a travel speed. 54 miles per hour, but i can tell you volume is increasing as you head to i-270. be aware as you head out on the roadways. back to you. >> thank you. ahead, a surprising revelation by a tv icon that gives new meaning to the phrase

"drunk at the wheel." and next, speaking of the wheel, this morning, some impressive video of what could be

[ female announcer ] for dry, itchy skin, get lasting relief with gold bond intensive healing cream. it targets the underlying causes of itch and irritation. gold bond. intensive healing for lasting relief.

forget cruise control, how about hands-free driving? bmw shows the technology on the famed audubon. it uses radar, cameras, laser scanners, and ultra sonic technology to drive safely. can you fit that all in one vehicle in it also obeys all the traffic laws including sticking to the speed limit and only passing on the left. the bmw won't be driving you any time soon. the carmaker likely won't release its hands-free technology for another tone 15 years. >> my understanding is there is no speed limit on the audubon. so -- >> that's right. >> there you go. hold on. "wheel of fortune" host pat jajak admitted that he and vanna white have been tips oh the show before. he said that he and vanna used to drink during their dinner break before taping their final show of the night. he said they would go to a local mexican restaurant and knock back a few margaritas. he joked that it was tough to

remember the afl pet during those tapings. he said those days are -- the alphabet during those tapings. he said those days are over. he's totally sober during the tapings. imagine the letters and numbers -- >> vanna turning the -- >> the contestants saying, that phrase makes no sense. >> i bet you they had fun. >> glad they changed their ways. 6:27. 61 degrees. ahead, the snack that launched an investigation at a local school. don't touch me! back up! >> plus, while you slept, what happened when police showed up at the down d.c. encampment. and the pleas ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you.

stormy start. tom is tracking some rare january thunderstorms. also new overnight, what happened when park police went tent to tent at mcsphere son square. and pleas for compassion. friends and family of the woman convicted in the lululemon murder pleading for leniency on the day of her sentencing. good morning and welcome back to "news4 today," i'm joe krebs! >> i'm eun yang. let's take a live look outside now.

6:30, and yes, it is 61 days out there. >> stupid. >> joe is saying it's stupid. they're out of people who are weather wimps. i won't name names, maybe me. people liking the 60-degree weather. it's bizarre. the cold front has been triggering thunderstorms. the areas in orange you see on the cedar where we're getting thunder and lightning, washington into frederick county, maryland, moving from the southwest and heading toward the east/northeast. and there's a bit of a broken line farther south around the blue ridge. now coming into western loudoun county. farther south, there are lighter showers in montgomery county and fairfax, but tlrth band -- but there's another band of heavier rain, manassas, prince william county, to the south and east of warrenton and fauquier county, these are heading closer to the metro area, over the next couple of hours, could be ponding of water on area roads. watch for that. may be causing traffic members, too. right now, it's near 60 around

the metro area. in the 40s farther to the north. and to our south, in the mid 60s. quiet an incredibly balmy start to this january morning. then later today, after the showers end by midday, we'll clear out this afternoon, a gusty wind out of the northwest. we'll bring in some colder air. in fact, much colder tonight. a look at the evening planner in ten minutes. danella? good morning, i have a report of an accident. this is inbound new york avenue at new jersey avenue. i'm not seeing anything on camera, but i want you to use caution just in case. police are still investigating the deadly single-vehicle crash that has closed 4th street in northeast at massachusetts avenue. just be aware of that also as you make your commute. and talk about the rain, here it comes on i-270. i want you to be careful. as you're traveling i-270 southbound, you are going to slow down at father hurley boulevard. also slick road conditions are going to slow you down, as well, expect delays. joe and eun? >> thank you. new from overnight, u.s.

park police arrested a few protesters at mcpherson square. occupy d.c. organizers tell news4 that u.s. park police were checking tonight make sure that no one was sleeping when a few protester became unruly. three protesters were actually taken into custody. so far there's no word on whatever charges they might face. earlier this week, the national parks service did say it would begin enforcing the no-camping rule. demonstrators have been down there at mcpherson square since october. today the woman convicted of killing her co-worker at the lululemon store in bethesda will learn her punishment. in november, brittany norwood was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of jana murray last month. the prosecution says murray suffered at least 332 wounds from five different weapons including a hammer and a wrench. norwood's conviction already carries a life sentence, but her family and friends are fighting for her chance at parole. news4 obtained more than a dozen letters asking the judge for

leniency. murray's family and friends have sent letters asking the judge to deny parole. if norwood is given life with a chance for parole, she would serve 25 years before having a parole review. former prince george's county corrections officer is charged in connection with the death of an inmate. ronny white died in custody at the county detention center back in 2008. he was charged with the murder of a police officer by running over him with his truck. yesterday, fbi agents arrested anthony macintosh in connection with the death. prosecutors say macintosh found white unconscious in his cell and did not alert anyone. they say that macintosh also tried to cover up his involvement. if convicted, he could face life in prison. prosecutors reduced the charges against a florida doctor who was subjected to racial slurs. virginia state troopers arrested dr. maria ferrare after a minor accident near the pentagon in july. >> she worked at taco bell, so -- [ inaudible ] >> burrito doctor.

>> burrito doctors, yeah. >> the video from the trooper's cruiser showed he used ethnic slurs and racial jokes before arresting the officer. she said troopers arrested her because she questioned why they were asking her to sign a ticket. she also says it took her a long time to recover from the ordeal. >> very difficult to trust people now, especially the police i have nightmares almost every night. >> the ticket was reduced to a fine. she's considering a civil suit against state police. the trooper would not comment and remains on regular patrol duty. this morning the loudoun county sheriff's office is investigating reports a student brought marijuana-laced brownies to school. the sheriff tells news4 the deputies will spend the day at the farmwell station middle school in ashburn looking into the claim. the school district is not releasing any information about this except to say that it is

also investigating. police are investigating an officer-involved shooting in northeast washington. the shoot happened around 8:00 last night on ponds street. it's not clear what led to the shooting. one man was taken to the hospital. he is expected to be okay. the officer was not hurt. from now on, all full and part-time federal employees will have a chance to take part in the annual federal employee viewpoint survey, according to the "washington post." in years past only a highly representative sampling of federal employees took part in the survey. now all can. job satisfaction among federal workers dropped last year for the first time in four years. the next survey is scheduled to begin in april. our time is now 6:36. ahead, a twist in the fight to get rid of a controversial law in virginia. also, a disturbing find inside a well. the major search local police are planning as soon as the sun comes up. plus, capturing his crime, this morning a look at some

welcome back. 6:40. this ad for the washington sports club appears to be targeting celebrity chef paula deen. in a "washington examiner" ad, it says, "paul ayou made a fortune off fat. call us if you want to be around to enjoy it." the ad comes a few weeks after deen announced she's had type-two diabetes for three years. critics say as a public figure she should have changed the way she cooked on her popular tv show. deen is a spokesperson for a diabetes drug company. quickly approaching 6:41. let's go to tom kierein in storm center 4 to look at the forecast. good morning, a strong southerly flow has warmed us

this morning. also along a cold front to the west, we've had heavy downpours moving in. the areas in orange and yellow, that's heavy rain. you see the green in maryland, sprinkles in washington and anne arundel, calvert county. farther north and west, right now getting moderate showers in montgomery county. some heavy downpours where you see the reds and oranges in frederick county. right along into, across the president obama, loudoun county and farther south there's another area of some heavy rain now just coming in to western fairfax county along route 29 and 66. and into northern prince william and southern fauquier county. these passing heavy downpours, maybe thunder and lightning, may cause ponding of water. look at the variety of temperatures. leesburg, 45. manassas is at 63 degrees. and later today, we'll be holding steady with mild temperatures, occasional showers. drying out this afternoon. a gusty wind will drop down all the way to near 40 under a clear sky by midnight tonight. even colder tomorrow. we'll look at the weekend in ten

minutes. danella? good morning. i have more details on the fatal crash in northeast d.c. right now, 4th street, closures between massachusetts avenue and d street while police are investigating. traveling on the beltway, inner loop in virginia, you're very slow from braddock road. delays continue to i-66. and the outer loop of the beltway in montgomery county, are you hitting the brakes at university boulevard. delays continue to georgia avenue, and we are seeing slick roadways. so please give yourself extra time this morning. joe and eun, back to you. >> thank you. police are trying to remove a body that was found in a well in prince george's county. an anonymous tipster told police they could find the body in the 11900 block of old father road in ft. washington. news4's tracee wilkins is live on the scene with overnight developments. there could be the answer to a long-time mystery. >> reporter: yes, it could be. police chiefs are going to have to do some work to make sure that the body of this -- this is the body of the man who they have been looking for for some

time now. they won't know that for sure until they're able to do an autopsy report. let me show you what's going on now on old fort road. you see the metro bus is trying to turn around, police helping to direct it, this is a good road. because of this investigation, they have closed the road off. traffic's not able to get down this way. you should know that if this is the way that you come for your commute in the morning, but beyond this bus as it's turning is a grove in the woods. it's moving so you can see it. that's where the investigation is actually happening. that's where the home and body was found there inside of a well just outside of that home. that's where police are working. we can't get any closer than we are right now. last night, investigators brought in portable lights and set up a tent to protect evidence. prince george's county patrol officers were called to the 11900 block of old fort road yesterday afternoon after an anonymous caller said there was a body in a well next to an

unoccupied home. alexandria police detectives are also on the scene. they're investigating the september disappearance of a community activist by the name of lenny harris. it's important to note that at this point the body found in the well has not been positively identified. harris' wallet was found on the woodrow wilson bridge after his disappearance. and his stolen credit card was used in prince george's county. now police are preparing for the task of removing the body from the 20-foot-deep well. >> we've got to excavate around the well. that requires a lot of equipment, it requires a lot of manpower. there is the potential for a well collapse. >> reporter: again, they are continuing the work and maintaining the scene overnight. we spoke with the harris family. they say that police have been in contact with them but have not told them anything definite yet. reporting live in ft. washington. back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. a woman accused of scramming and robbing an elderly

montgomery county woman is behind bars this morning. u.s. marshals arrested 48-year-old linda mccorkle in new york yesterday. investigators say mccorkle convinced an 84-year-old woman to drive to the bank by telling her that she and her three children had not eaten in days. once they were in the car, police say mccorkle told the victim she had a gun and threatened her with it. police tracked mccorkle down thanks to an anonymous tip. some chilling video out this morning offering a closer look at the ex-marine who pleaded guilty to shooting several military facilities in northern virginia. jonathan milaku pleaded guilty to firing at the pentagon, the marine corps museum, and several military locations. prosecutors released video. they say milaku recorded himself while he was committing the crimes. you can see him masked and then unmasked and can actually see flashes as he fired his gun at the museum in triangle. under the deal, he agreed to a 25-year prison sentence. you can also watch the entire

video right now on our web page, nbcwashington.com. in the race for the white house, mitt romney is taking a much more aggressive tone in his attacks on newt gingrich less than a week before the crucial florida primary. the candidates squared off in a final debate before the sunshine state's primary on tuesday. all four white house hopefuls took part, but the focus was primarily on romney and gingrich. romney was particularly animated when gingrich called him the most anti-immigrant gop candidate. >> want to make sure i understand. is he still the most anti-immigrant candidate? >> you think of the four of us, yes -- i think of the four of us, yes. >> governor? >> that's inexcusable, inexcusable. actually, senator marco rubio came to my defense and said that ad was inexcusable and inflammatory and inappropriate. mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. >> romney also blasted gingrich over his vow to build a colony on the moon during his

presidency. he accused gingrich of just telling florida voters what they want to hear in order to win their support. gingrich seems to be emerging as the front-runner nationally. he leads romney among nine points in an nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. rick santorum is a distant third followed by ron paul. that may not be the best of news for the republican party. gingrich fares the worst of all the candidates tested against president obama in the general election. the former house speaker would lose by 18 points according to the poll. romney would fare best against the president,trailing by just six points. romney, gingrich, and paul will be campaigning tomorrow in florida. santorum will be at home in pennsylvania. the former senator says he's leaving florida, a primary even he expects to lose. santorum says he'd rather spend his saturday at his own kitchen table doing his taxes. voters had their -- if voters had their way, many members of congress would be sent home. according to a poll, the

majority of registered voters say they would vote out every member of congress if they could. 56% of voters say they'd prefer a whole new congress. the anger appears to be bipartisan. 55% of liberals and 55% of moderates and 58% of conservatives say they'd vote out congress, all of congress if they could. today d.c. leaders are heading to new hampshire to make the case that the district should become the 51st state in the union. part of an effort in which statehood advocates will be asking state legislatures to pass resolutions supporting the cause. new hampshire lawmakers introduced such a resolution last year. a big setback for virginia school districts hoping to start school before later day. a virginia senate committee killed several bills that would name the so-called kings dominion law. tourism lobbists argue that starting school before the labor day weekend would cost the state much-needed late summer tourism dollars. educators say the later start puts virginia students at a disadvantage.

several bills to repeal the law are still alive in the house. also in virginia, new abortion restrictions are moving forward in the republican-dominated general assembly. the senate education and health committee approved a bill that would require women to have an ultrasound before they're allowed to get an abortion. the trawl sound is meant to determine the gestational age of the fetus, but the bill requires that each patient must be offered the opportunity to see the ultrasound image or hear the fetal heartpeat. women, however, are allowed to decline the offer. game show host bob barker is speaking out against the university of virginia over medical training it's conducting that involves live cats. the former "price is right" host is asking the university of virginia to use high-tech similarities instead of the animals. the training technique is used to teach graduate physicians how to insert breathing tubes into critically ill, premature newborns. the school claims there are no similarities that can -- simulators that can train students as well as the use of

live cats. some local students will get the chance to learn economics from the head of the fed. cnbc's bertha coombs has more on that story and the rest of the business headlines. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. ben bernanke has a big job, but it's not keeping him from moonlighting a bit. the fed chairman will teach four classes on the fed's role in the economy at george washington university's business school starting in march. the classes will also be streamed live on the internet. bernanke has a history on campus. he taught grad school at stanford and of course was the chairman of the princeton's economics department before being selected for the fed. his term as fed chairman ends in 2014. and it's possible he could decide to return to academia. meantime, if you're looking for a deal on a big-screen tv for the super bowl, well, you may be out of luck. holiday sales were pretty strong. so retailers probably won't have as many sets in stock ahead of the super bowl. stores are discounting fewer models, banking on selling newer sets with features like smart tv apps at full price.

but there are still bargains to be had. amazon is offering a $600 discount on a 60-inch panasonic hd-tv. best buy has some $700 discounts on sharp 60 and 70-inch displays. guys, i don't care what size i watch it on, all i want to see is tom brady beat ellie manning. we are out -- eli manning. we are out for revenge. i am from boston. it is done! they've ruined our perfect season years ago. 17 seconds i can't get back. time to avenge that loss. >> we'll -- our producer is a big giant fan. so it's going to be tough. all right. >> i guess i won't be on the show anymore. it's been nice seeing you. >> have a great weekend, bertha. >> you, too. bye-bye. >> been nice knowing you. you probably don't have to look too hard to find a starbucks near you. one starbucks with real sentimental value is about to close its doors. the coffee shop on wisconsin avenue near the national

cathedral will close on sunday. it was the first starbucks ever on the east coast. that's amazing. opened back in 1993. the shopping center, where it's located, is being renovated and turned into a mixed use development called cathedral common center. a new starbucks will open when the construction is completed. hope they have that outside seating area, too. >> there's a lot of grieving going. on there's your go-to bucks, mine. >> great place to sit down on a nice, you know, warm, spring morning and have a cup of coffee. great place. >> but there are 23 others i think that are a mile or less -- >> within a block. >> you could be okay. this morning, we are surrounded by rain. and as we look at the radar, we've got two areas where we're getting some heavier rain. these areas that you see in orange and red, these are the areas getting some heavy rain right now moving into western fairfax county, out of southern loudoun and prince william. this is heading off to the north and east. it's just about near fairfax city now. and it's heading up toward

reston, as well, and crossing the president obama and heading up toward bethesda. we've got another one here in president obama that's coming down with heavy rain. but also around washington, no rain yet. it's coming in. and it will be moving our way. there's another area of heavy rain. this is the heaviest rain right now in far southeastern loudoun county and into frederick, maryland. this is where 270 meets 70, heading off to the east. it's going to be heading toward mt. airy and clipping northern montgomery county as we get into the next 15 or 20 minutes or so. moving quickly. could have strong, gusty winds associated with it, as well. temperatures in the low 60s to mid 60s. 66 now in fredericksburg while it's just near 40 near the pennsylvania border. sunrise at 7:19. passing, heavy downpours for another hour or so. then showers coming in around noontime. clearing, windy, chillier this afternoon. sun set's at 5:236789 we'll be near 50 by then, near 40 at midnight under a clear sky, diminishing winds. tomorrow, partly cloudy, cold start, near 30.

afternoon highs in the low to mid 50s. then getting colder on sunday and monday. warming up midweek next week. could get rain end of the week. danella? in the district, northeast d.c. now, police are still investigating the car crash. this is at 4th street. your closures on 4th are between massachusetts avenue and d street. be aware of that as you're making your commute. traveling in virginia, are you slow starting at lorton. delays continue as you head it 395. and on i-66, you were talking about rain, tom. we are seeing it on the road as the cars drive by eastbound. it is slowing you down just a bit. slow all the way to nutley as you make your commute. and on the rails, no reported delays so far. back to you. >> danella, thank you very much. 6:54. metro says power problems caused delays last night and into this morning. it knocked out their computer systems and radio. some riders tweeted they were sitting on a train for an hour. that problem capped a bad day for metro riders and more

headaches are coming. news4 has more on the many issues metro is dealing with this morning. >> reporter: good morning. commuters on the system's busiest line are hoping for a smoother trip this morning than what they were dealing with yesterday. a cracked rail outside the tinley town station caused a major headache yesterday, forcing trains to single track between friendship heights and van ness for more than four hours. unlike some other cracked rails earlier this winter, this was not weather related but rather a crack officials say is just due to the rail's age. even if this morning's commute is a bit different and goes well, weekend track work that has become commonplace will close two stations. we're talking about woodley park. we're also talking about cleveland park on the red line. plus, there will be single tracking on the blue and orange lines between mcpherson square and smithsonian. green line trains will share a track between naylor road and branch avenue. also yellow line trains will only be able to travel between huntington and mt. vernon square. all of that work starts tonight

at 10:00 p.m. take a look here. the weekend closures and yesterday's surprise cracked rail that metro officials point to as proof that they need to raise fares to bring in more money. the board voted to keep a proposed fare hike on the table. they're going to be holding public hearings in the coming months. that fare hike would mean increases on rails, buses, and parking lots and garages. the biggest hike would be for riders who use paper fare cards. the board also proposing a 28-day rail pass that would be at a discounted price in hopes of apeasing riders. back to you. >> thank you very much. an alert now for delinquent parking scofflaws. today is the final day to pay outstanding tickets in the district no penalty. the district is ending its ticket am nestnesty program. so far it's brought in more than $3.5 million in revenue. if you have outstanding tickets, today's the day to do it. >> we like when you use the word scoff laws. >> great word. thank you for starting your day with us.

>> we'll be back in 25 minutes with weather, traffic, and breaking news. [ male announcer ] for andy, tracking his spending with citibank is as easy as... making breakfast. omelet? sure. scrambled eggs. [ male announcer ] actually, it's easier. citi financial tools. easier banking. standard at citibank.

>> woman: don't forget the yard work! >> o.k. >> announcer: with citibank's popmoney, dan can easily send money by email right from his citibank account.